Abduction
by Selective scifi junkie
Summary: When a member of SG1 is taken from Colorado Springs without warning, the rest of the team must battle time to find them, before the kidnappers become murderers. Teamfic, S/J bias, not really shippy. Details at top of fic.
1. Prologue: Out of the blue

Abduction

**Summary: When a member of SG1 is taken from Colorado Springs without warning, the rest of the team must battle time to find them, before the kidnappers become murderers. S/J bias, could be called shippy if you're looking for it.**

**Set: Season 6, just before Metamorphosis.**

**Spoilers: `In the line of Duty`, `Nightwalkers`, `Meridian`, `Redemption`, `Desperate measures` (fractionally) and slightly `Abyss`. **

**Genres: Some Angst, Drama, Friendship, Suspense.**

**Rating: T to be safe, violence, threat, a 12 as an episode.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything of Stargate. I gain no profit from this.**

"Did you hear?" Colonel O'Neil's voice came from Sam's cell phone "The NID went to alert this morning."

"No." She replied, searching for her car keys, they had to be somewhere around the front door. "Why?"

"Siler told me that seven of their personnel have gone missing in the last three weeks. No apparent reason for any of them to run off. That said, they are NID, we both know how extremely reliable and trustworthy every single member of that morally flawless organisation is." Sam smiled and discovered her car keys. "Jonas is following the case like God knows what."

"Well that's Jonas." Sam left the house, locking the door behind her. "He's very keen, still."

"Yeah, well..." Colonel O'Neil tailed off. "How long 'till you get here?"

"Leaving now Sir," Sam stepped onto the pavement, closing her gate. "so twenty minutes tops."

"OK. See you there." Sam could hear something coming along her road, fast. She stepped in closer to her car. "I'll be there in 15." She heard a squeal of brakes from behind her, twisted round and gasped. A black van had materialised behind her. Out of it bust half a dozen men, masked, hooded, dressed in black. "Carter?" She didn't hear her cell phone. She raised her fists as they came at her. They didn't slow. Her right fist slammed into the face of the foremost. He staggered away. The six men formed a half-circle, pinning her to the side of her car. It was then that it really hit Sam.

"_Oh my God."_ She thought. _"They've come for me. They've come to take me and I have no idea why."_

She screamed. Not for pain, not for fear, not for battle or anger. She screamed to be heard. They were masked, they wanted to be unknown, please, somebody look, call 911, anything.

"Holy crap." She heard one growl. "Shut the hussy up." The leader. Sam charged him, slamming fists into an armoured chest. Hands grasped her head. A hand tried to cover her mouth. She bit it. It didn't move. Its owner swore and snarled.

"Drug her! Unless anyone else wants a cat bite!" Oh no! Oh God, no! Sam pulled her head free and kept screaming. Someone was holding her hands. She writhed against her hold as she felt a sharp sting in her neck. Sedative. Fight it! Fight it! Oh, God! Its over!

Sam felt her body go limp. The men bundled it into the blacked out. The departing squeal of tyres momentarily drowned out the dropped cell phone, which was still shouting,

"Carter! Carter, what's going on! Are you OK? Carter!"

**Chapters in this story will be very very short. It's because I've got a lot on and I still want to post more than weekly, but even that might not be possible.**


	2. Reeling

Abduction

**I was not expecting to do this so fast. I wasn't expecting to post for another four or five days. Do not take this as the norm.**

Jack stood next to his jeep for maybe a minute, shouting into his cell phone. She wasn't answering him. He'd heard her gasp, then scream. Men's voices, indistinct but there. Her screams stopping, then tyres. He had to know. He clambered into his car, dialling the SGC. He forced his way through the phone desks as he reached the open road, hoping against hope that there were no police cars between him and Carter's place.

"Colonel O'Neill, this is Airman Nick O'Connor." The guard's voice sounded young.

"Right, O'Connor, I need to know the instant Carter shows up."

"Yessir. That's Major Saman..."

"Yes, it is, now..."

"Is she a hazard?"

"No, she's not, just get..."

"Has she been compromised?"

"Just get me General Hammond, that's an order?" The line was momentarily dead, then,

"Hammond."

"Sir, I think something's happened to Carter. I called her just now, we were talking, then it sounded like she was attacked. She was screaming and I can't get a response from her." It seemed to take a moment for the General to take that in.

"Understood Colonel. Where are you?"

"Two minutes from Carter's house. That's where she was."

"Can I send back up? A medical team?"

"Send Teal'c and Jonas. I'll let you know about the medical team." But an instinct told Jack they wouldn't need medics. It told him Carter was gone, taken. He wouldn't believe it.

Her road was quiet. He pulled up hastily and set off down the road at a run. There was her car. Any step now would bring her into view, stunned, but alive. He drew level with her car. She had to be near. He circled it twice, looking around. There was no trace of her.

"Carter!" Jack set off again, running down to the far end of the road. "Carter!" The only response was an irritated glance from a woman letting a cat in. Jack hit re-dial and this time got through to General Hammond in seconds. They had the whole of the SGC if they needed it. Surely they'd be able to help her.

"Hammond."

"She's not here Sir." Saying it hurt like a knife wound. It made it final, real, took it beyond a bad dream. "Her car's still here, so she's not on her way to work." But he'd known that. Deep inside, he'd known from the moment she'd gasped.

"Alright. I'll alert local police. Teal'c and Jonas are on their way. See what you can dig up."

"Yes, Sir."

Jack paced back up the road, feeling as if he'd been hit by a flashbang. Pain, vague, formless pain conquered any rational thought. As he neared her car, a faint, high, continuous beep reached his ears. He stopped just beside her car and crouched down. Her cell, under the belly of the car. He picked it up. It was still making that `other person has hung up` noise. She'd never turned it off. Jack touched the red phone symbol. It fell silent.

It wasn't long before he heard an engine, then Teal'c's deep voice calling,

"O'Neill!" Then Jonas's

"Colonel."

"Is there any evidence of Major Carter?" Jack shook his head.

"She's not here T." He raised Carter's phone. "I found this." Teal'c turned to Jonas and said,

"What can you discern Jonas Quinn?" Jack looked at him quizzically. "When you were host to a Tok'ra symbiote, Jonas Quinn proved most adept at interpreting what he saw in the Goa'uld-infested area we were sent to. He proved invaluable." Jack turned to Jonas quickly, not keen to remember that period of time. If he'd mistrusted Tok'ra before...

"Ah..." Jonas ran a hand through his hair. "OK. These skid marks here and here look fresh. Far apart, so it's a big vehicle. That's probably how her assailants got to her."

"Assailants?"

"We were told she'd been attacked, right?"

"Sounded like it."

"Can you re-play what you heard? Can your phone do that?"

"Sure." Jack answered dully. He didn't want to listen, helpless, again. He set his phone to re-play from the start of the call (she'd taught him to do that) and gave it to Jonas. For about a minute, Jonas just listened. Then he began to interpret sounds.

"Keys... closing the door... keys... car or van of some kind... braking hard... she gasps. Oh, great, she's dropped it... is that a guy in pain? Oh, that's her screaming, not in pain, yelling for help... A guy says something, she's... I dunno, got something over her mouth, it's more or less stopped her yelling. Guy says something else... and she's yelling again, now she's stopped... door slam... tyres. I'm not 100% sure about any of that, Colonel. I'd need to get it cleaned up, then listen to it a few times." Jack just nodded, so Jonas continued. "No visible scratches on her car..." he tried the handle, "which is locked. I can't see any substance traces." Jonas dropped to a crouch and looked carefully around. "That's all I got Colonel. Can we get access to what that camera saw?" Jonas stood up and pointed and pointed. Jack followed his gaze. To his surprise, and rearing hope, he saw a CCTV camera staring blankly at them. What had it seen? Could it tell them where Carter was?

**Reviews very welcome. Who took her? Why? **


	3. Twilight

Abduction

**I know this chapter is very short. And I'm sorry. There will be a few miniatures, but they get posted faster.**

God, her head hurt. She felt like she was floating in tar. Everything took so long in her head. She was flat on her back. Someone was palpating her left upper arm. A man's voice, vague, drifted into her consciousness.

"You ask for a certain type, my boys brought you one. She's a genuine article and I'm claiming $1000 extra for damage and double dope. She wasn't an easy catch."

"Of course she wasn't. She's an active field officer. You're lucky your boys came away clean. She must have tried to get the operation noticed."

"No. I... I mean she was quiet, just kicked like a mule."

"I hope so, for your sake." A stab of pain flared into her biceps muscle. What the...? "She's very valuable. You have no idea what the Airforce'll put out to find her. You've thrown us all in the shark pool. If there's a hint of blood..."

"Look, all you specified was the history deal. I met your specifications. Pay up."

A long pause.

"There. Get the rest in six days."

"Why six days?"

"If I told you, I'd have to kill you. I'll just say that in six days, the Airforce can find her for all it matters." Blackness.

**Who are they then? What do they want with her? Where is she? What happens on the sixth day? **

**Blue button here.**

**What do you think?**


	4. Chasing cars

Abduction

**I have only managed to do two today because they are both so short. Sorry about that.**

Back at base. Jack sat at the computer that, a year ago, had been Daniel's, with Teal'c and Jonas. A forensic team was sweeping the area Sam had vanished from. If she didn't come back, he and Teal'c were all that was left from SG1, and he was the last of the 1997 Abydos team. Real SG1 that was. Jonas was good, but he'd never be part of them like Daniel had been. Jack had to move on. He'd lost people before, but losing Daniel, then Carter? That...

"Here we go." Jonas's voice jerked Jack back to reality, and the surveillance footage. "7:22, local time. She closes the gate and ..." They just watched. Watched as she walked round to her car, the van sped close behind her. Six on one, plus a driver. Jonas zoomed in. They could see it now. Jack saw Carter draw breath to scream, then do so, silent all the while. She lunged, was grabbed from behind and... "That's why she shut up. Hey, was that movement a bite?" Jonas zoomed right in on Carter's writhing torso. "Safety syringe." Jonas observed decisively. "So they drugged her and... ran." Jonas suddenly zoomed out and froze it, just as the van's doors closed over Carter and the six men. He zoomed in on a different area. 227ELV.

"Get a run down on that license plate." They had something. A lead. They could find her.

"Yes Sir." Jonas sounded almost offended that Jack had felt the need to give the order.

**I have tried to get the license plate accurate for Colorado. If I'm wrong, please tell me and blame Wikipedia, and me for using it.**


	5. Awakening

Abduction

**Enjoy.**

Her head felt like someone was trying to fit a six inch steel band round it. She let out a soft sight of pain.

"Was wondering when you were gonna wake up." The dry, weak man's voice to her left made her look round. When her vision had settled enough to see clearly and the dizziness had calmed a bit, she saw the speaker. A man, lying prostrate, like she was. An unshaven man with slightly vacant eyes. The mid brown hair on his face and neck looked like several days growth. Was it really?

"Agent Cross?" Her voice was weak and dry, like his.

"Didn't expect to see you here Major. I thought it was just NID."

NID agents? Seven missing in three weeks, with no reason to run.

"How many of you are there here?"

"Not are Major, were. There's a routine here. It works like this: Prisoner is brought in to find someone else already here. Three days later, that someone is taken away and replaced by someone else. Three days after that, the prisoner I was talking about in the first place gets taken away."

"Taken away?"

"We don't know, but once you're taken away from here, you're never seen again. We're almost sure they kill you. You showing up has told me one thing. I only got three days to live." The despair in Agent Cross's voice was unmistakable. She couldn't let him dwell.

"How many have there been?"

"Seven." Seven missing in three weeks. One every third day. "Including me. In the order we were taken, that's O'Riley, Bishop, Grant, Abbey, King, Singer, Me. There was at least one person who wasn't NID before that." Agent Cross paused, then, "Hell, I guess I'd just never thought."

"What?"

"That's the whole team from that Small-town incident, with the cloned symbiotes, where you showed up and blew the op."

""Hey." Sam retorted. "That op was already blown. You'd been compromised. Most of the organisation was under." Cross didn't respond, so she changed the subject before an argument could start. "So they abduct us, hold us here," She tried to move her hands. Chain links clicked. Metal bit into her wrists. "Handcuffed to the bed and..." She lifted her head. "With our feet tied together and to the bed, then six days later... For what?"

"They don't just hold us here Major. Every day, for a couple of hours, they drug us out and I think they do tests on us. We've heard them mention EEG, MRI, X-ray, brain scans, and a lot of bloods."

"Why? Why us? We both work for powerful organisations. Messing with the NID is at least as dangerous as messing with the Airforce. You hear of illegal scientific experiments on abducted humans from time to time, but the NID and the Airforce have the power and the will to retaliate. Neither of us can just disappear."

"Why bother? Could they be trying to attract attention?"

"No. They'd have killed us already. They said they needed a specific type." There was a long silence.

"The Small-town. We were all at the Small-town. More than that. We all got infected with Goa'ulds. That's it. We were infected with Goa'ulds and we survived. They're focusing on our brains and our blood. Both still carry the marks of infection."

He was right. All the evidence they had fitted. These people, whoever they were, were abducting those who had had symbiotes die inside them.

"I think that's it. Good thought."

**Are they right? If not, why not? Come on, someone has to have some idea. **


	6. Scent

Abduction

**I know how ridiculously short this chapter is. I would have posted it earlier, but my internet is not cooperating (you're not the only one Samdanfan, is playing me up too) . **

**Second note to Samdanfan, don't worry. I will never write Sam as passive. If I were to place her in mythology, she's an amazonian, not a damsel. Of course she's going to try to save herself and Cross, just might take her a while.**

**Enjoy.**

"Colonel!" Jonas's voice echoed down the hallway as he ran. "Teal'c!" He clutched a piece of paper in his right hand. "I got it!"

"What?" Jack spun around to face him, hope surging.

"I've tracked down the license plate." Jonas came to a stop, panting a little, and raised the piece of paper. "It was reported missing in Fort Collins quote: `23 days ago` so there's no point in checking out the owner but police spotted it four times on the freeway north from Colorado Springs. It was going faster than a van that size probably should, but not really speeding. The last point at which it was spotted was just before the freeway hit Denver."

"So?" Jack prompted.

"It's only a start Colonel. I mean, she could have gone on North to Fort Collins, West to, I don't know, Wellington? Or East into Kansas, or she could just be in Denver."

"The police are now seeking that license plate." Teal'c put in. "If it appears anywhere in Colorado, we will be notified."

"Look," Jonas continued. "how long would it have taken the police to notify all units?"

"About as long as it takes to get from here to Denver."

"So more likely than not," said Jonas, catching Jack's thread, "she's still there."

**Is Jonas right? Has anybody got any predictions yet? Why haven't I finished my author's note?**


	7. Abattoir

Abduction

**Enjoy.**

"I got one piece of advice." Agent Cross's voice sounded a little more normal now. "If you want to be conscious more, pretend not to be whenever anyone comes in here. The security in here detects movement, not sound. We can talk all we like. If you'd prefer to be out of it, kick up a fuss."

"OK."

"And when you hear the door creak, start the act."

"OK."

"There. That's the legacy. Pass it on to the next poor soul who comes into the slaughterhouse."

"Don't talk like that." Sam started. "We..." But a high, piercing creak made her cut off abruptly. Agent Cross dropped his head onto the bed, closing his eyes. Sam mimicked him. They were coming. Two men's voices sounded.

"Doctor," The first one started. "can I make a suggestion?"

"Sure, why not?" The second replied

"Well, the problem seems to be," The first man, younger, sounded tentative. "finding a way to just stop the subject, more than kill them. Dissecting a living brain causes massive haemorrhage, so we can't do that. All the drugs we've tried, barbiturates, cyanide, damage the brain. Cutting the throat drains blood too much."

"Yes."

"So we need a way to cause the subject to stop where it stands." The double doors opened and four, not two, men entered. Sam closed her eyes again quickly.

"Yes?"

"CO2 was the best we've found yet, but it causes chemical changes in the brain which get in the way. I'm suggesting that we just stop the heart."

"How do we do that then?"

"With a defibrillator."

"Good idea. OK, you boys know the drill. X-ray and brain scans respectively." Sam heard no movement. "Any reason we're waiting?"

"I swear I saw that one twitch a minute ago." The third man growled. There was a long silence. Sam fought to keep herself still, her breathing slow and even.

Something hard and pointed stabbed into her left hand. She gasped in shock, recoiling as far as her bonds allowed.

"She was only pretending to be out!" The second man exclaimed. Sam opened her eyes, knowing the damage was done, to see his dark haired head turned to her.

"What dose was she on?" The first man, grizzled and tall, nearly as tall as her CO, asked.

"Why are you doing this?" Sam spoke before the second man could.

"Twenty mg Vallium." He spoke as if she had not.

"How do you know I can't tell you what you want to find out?" She tried again, louder.

"Put her dose up to... fifty for now, then put her capsule up to thirty-five."

"That's one hell of an overdose." Fifty. Fifty mg. Exactly what Janet used to put her out.

"No!" She cried, sitting up. The world span. She couldn't see. A needle penetrated her left wrist. Hands pushed her back.

"It's symbiotes, isn't it?" She knew she had only moments before the Vallium claimed her. "You're investigating the effects of symbiotes long-term. The Air Force documents that. You don't have to do this!" She could feel the darkness stalking her.

"OK. Move them." The darkness pounced.

**I know, it's another tiny one. Sorry.**


	8. Hunting ground

Abduction

**I know this is another micro-chapter. At least I can post them more than weekly. I am sorry, really. **

It had been almost twenty-four hours since Carter had been taken. To Denver? Probably. Who knew? Jack was on his way to Daniel's office see if they had anything new. As he neared the door, he heard a deep, Texas accent saying,

"OK, let's hear it." General Hammond. Jack passed through the open door in time to hear Jonas say,

"General, the police- Oh, Colonel, you'd better hear this too- the police found the van, 227ELV, the one that took Sam, on the Park Hill golf course. They're sweeping it for evidence now, but they're not expecting to find anything. It was burned out. But that's not the good news. They traced the van backwards with CCTV. It spent twelve hours in a section of the industrial area, two miles square. There's no hotels, no gas stations, so why did it stop?"

"She's there." Jack said it as it became clear to him. "Carter's wherever that van stopped." Jonas nodded.

"I'd bet on it Sir."

"Go." General Hammond said shortly. "Take a retrieval team and Teal'c. Where is he?"

"Getting his Tretonin." Jack turned sharply and set off at a jog. They'd found her. They could search that area in a day with a retrieval team. They'd find her. They'd get the bastards that had taken Carter and get her back.

**Is she there? Is there a hitch?**


	9. Epitaph

Abduction

**I'm really sorry it's been so long. I've just had one of those weeks. All I can say is sorry and I'm doing my best.**

Everything was blurred. She felt as if she were deep under water. Where was she? When was she? She didn't know. Nothing made sense. Why was she like this? She couldn't move. She could barely feel.

Sam lay like that for what seemed a very long time, then it began to come back to her. She'd been abducted. She didn't know where she was. She felt so bad because... Vallium. She'd had a lot. She still felt weak, cold, but she was fairly sure she could move now.

She turned her head to the left, opening her eyes. Daylight. It was a moment before she saw Agent Cross, still lying there. He met her eyes with a look of resigned sorrow.

"You were out for a long time. It got light ages ago. That said, I'm surprised to see you awake at all. Fifty mg, plus a 35mg time release and, just to be sure, they put you on a 5 mg drip not long after sunrise."

"So I'm up to forty mg." This didn't scare Sam. It only surprised her, partly by not scaring her, partly because she was conscious. She knew it took fifty mg to put her right out, surely forty mg should be doing more to her than this.

"How are you conscious?"

"I'm resilient to Vallium. The first symbiote I had taught my body how to fight it."

"The first?"

"I've had two. I guess my resistance must be proportional to my exposure."

There was a long silence. Agent Cross broke it.

"Major, I've given you all the important legacy, but there are a few other bits. Are you awake enough to remember?"

"Sure. What?" Sam wasn't lying. She only felt a little tired now. It was unbelievable. The Vallium should have been doing more to her.

"It... it doesn't matter if you forget. They're... they're not important. They're just goodbyes."

"That's important." Sam replied quietly. Agent Cross didn't respond. He just carried on.

"O'Riley wants, wanted, someone to tell his Dad that he should move to Florida if that's what he wants to do, that he's a silly old bugger and that O'Riley loved him. Bishop didn't have any family. He just wanted to make sure that Ralph Mundels got his dog. Grant lost his wife, but he wanted to tell his daughter that he's sorry he won't walk her down the aisle and that he believes, believed Ed will make her happy. Abbey just wanted someone to tell her Mum that she loved her. Poor kid. She was twenty-two. She was Twenty-two and they murdered her." Agent Cross's voice was shaking with either anger or pain. He took a deep breath and forced himself on. "Kings was divorced, but he still wants someone to tell her that he thought she was the best damned woman alive. Singer wants, wanted, someone to tell his Dad thanks, he said he'd know what for." Agent Cross's voice cracked again as he continued. "He was my best friend Major. I... I just can't quite believe he's gone, or any of them are. I guess it'll hit home when... when..." He stopped abruptly, leaving the rest unsaid. "Major, I know I've asked you to remember a lot, but can you take a message from me?"

"I..." Sam didn't know. She felt so responsible already. Agent Cross had left her with the last testimonies of six people, six people who'd known for six days that they were going to die and had faced their fates bravely enough to leave a message behind. "OK."

"I... I just need my wife to know that... that I love her, that I'll always love her and that... I've thought of her right through this, and that I'll... I'll be thinking of her when... when it happens." Agent Cross silenced himself, breaking down into noiseless sobs. Sam didn't know what she could say. He had given up. Completely resigned himself to his fate. She couldn't just let him dwell.

"What's her name?" The only question she could think of.

"Francesca." He replied shakily. "Cesca most of the time."

"How long have you been married?" She had to keep him talking. She didn't know what else to do."

"Three years. I met her five years ago."

"Where?"

"A bar in DC. We hit off right away. She was working for a motel chain, she was mad at her boss for some reason, and we just got talking. Eighteen months later, I asked her to marry me. She said yes on the spot. We've got a penthouse now, near where she works." He was just speaking at random, or it sounded like it.

"Tell me about her."

"She's beautiful Major, like a goddess. Shining black hair, moves like a dancer the whole time. She says I think that because I don't watch enough dance. She's like that. I'm never gonna see her again. I remember the first night we met. I walked her home, the sight of her when she was out of the bar in the moonlight. She was like a drug. I couldn't look at her enough. I was crazy about her from then. I'm never gonna see her again. She always said my work would be the death of me. She was right. It will be."

"Don't talk like that." Sam almost growled. "Don't you go giving up on me. I've gone to other planets, I've escaped from their prisons. I'm not gonna die in some warehouse for a science project, and neither are you. Do you hear me?" Sam didn't know why she'd said it, but her words steeled her, thought she knew they were empty. Agent Cross didn't reply.

**Reviews?**


	10. Red symbol

Abduction

**I know this chapter is tiny, but I have a lot to do right now. I'm sorry.**

"Colonel!" Jack turned round, sensing Jonas and Teal'c do the same on either side of him. Fraiser was running down the corridor after them. The retrieval team was getting ready. He, Jonas and Teal'c were on their way to the locker room to gear up. "Someone said you'd found Sam and that you were going to get her."

"Almost found her, Doc. We've still got a couple of square miles to search."

"Permission to accompany you Sir, I'm not on duty here."

"Why? You're not a field worker."

"Sir, she was taken by force. She could well be injured. I'm her doctor, Sir. She could need medical attention"

"Doc, when did you last point a gun at anyone, not counting Nirti?" Fraiser straightened up to full height, not a very impressive gesture.

"August 10th, first year of the program. Do I need to go into details as to who at or why?" She didn't. Jack didn't want that discussed.

He weighed up his options. On the one hand, Fraiser had dangerously little field experience; she could be a liability if a fire fight broke out. On the other, she was right. Carter could need medical attention. There was no way of knowing what had been done to her, if she was... No. Anyway, if there was a fire fight and someone got hurt, Fraiser could be invaluable.

"OK." He said. "Gear up. We leave in twenty."

"Thank you Sir." Fraiser turned and walked away.

"August 10th first year of the program?" Jonas asked. "What's that all about?" Teal'c opened his mouth to answer.

"It doesn't matter Jonas." Jack said firmly. Teal'c closed his mouth again. "Come on." The three of them continued towards the locker room.

**I suppose you can guess what happened on August 10****th. ****Fraiser was carrying a gun. If anyone asks, I'll put it at the top of next chapter.**


	11. Standing by

Abduction

**I'm sorry. This one's barely bigger than the last one. **

**In case anyone didn't know, the incident Fraiser was referring to was when Hathor (a Goa'uld Queen) infiltrated the SGC and ended up controlling all the men. Teal'c and 5 women saved the day, but the men made a fool of themselves (particularly poor Daniel).**

She was flat on her back. She opened her eyes a crack.

A man in a white coat stood with his back to her, staring at a computer screen. She looked to her left. An instrument tray, unguarded. If only she wasn't tied up. No, wait. She wasn't. She couldn't feel metal on her wrist or ankles. She wasn't bound. Don't rush. You'll only get one chance. Your legs will never support you. Choose what to take now. Scissors, scalpels, forceps, probes. She didn't have the strength to run now. She'd be handcuffed again. That probe on the left might serve as a lock pick, the largest scalpel a serviceable weapon. OK. On three. One, two, three!

Sam wrenched herself over, half rolling, half falling off her gurney and onto the floor. She heard the man shout,

"What the? Hey! Hey, security!" Her hands scrabbled for the probe, the scalpel. Hands grabbed at her, pulling her back. The scalpel drew blood from her. She dropped it, not trying to fight the hands. She slipped the probe into her waist band. She saw the second man run in as hands pinned her back to the gurney.

"What happened here?"

"I tell you Doc." The security man said. "She's trouble this one. Hope you didn't pay for her."

"She made an escape attempt." The first man said curtly, "it failed." No it hasn't. Not yet.

"What's her dose?"

"35mg time release. She was on a 5mg drip until half an hour ago."

"Put her on a 15 mg drip. We don't need her kicking up a fuss tomorrow."

"50mg?"

"She's plainly resistant." No. 50mg. She just wouldn't wake up. She'd lie comatose until they killed her. She whined feebly in protest as a needle dragged her skin. She didn't have the strength to do more. She couldn't fight that much drug. She yielded.


	12. War cry

Abduction

**Another tiny one I'm afraid. The next one's even littler.**

**Fraiser had a gun because a Goa'uld Queen infiltrated the SGC and took control of all the men except Teal'c, so it was up to him and 5 women to save the day. The men made a fool of themselves.**

They'd been in the trucks for nearly two hours. Jack, Teal'c and Retrieval team 1 in one truck, Jonas, Fraiser and Retrieval team 2 in the other. All the properties in the area they had to search were warehouses. The first was visible now.

"Sergeant." Jack spoke to his radio. "You know what to do? Over."

"Yes Sir. We surround the building, you go in and search for her. Over."

"OK. Just checking. Over and out." They were ready. Their guns were loaded, thermal detectors ready. The two sniffer dogs had the scent and were whining in anticipation. A squeal of tyres. Everyone in the van braced as it took the corner into the warehouse yard and stopped abruptly. People poured from both trucks. Jack caught sight of Fraiser's tiny form sprinting to keep up as the second team set up a perimeter.

The double doors dead ahead. That was where Jack's team was going. Three of the team airmen, including the leader, ran at them, guns pointed to cover the centre and both flanks, shouldering the door as the leader shouted.

"Alright people, make this easy? Hands above your heads, standing up." Four startled looking secretaries obeyed at once, fear shining in their eyes. A man walked out of an office and froze at the sight of two Airmen pointing M16s at his chest. He threw up his hands, catching them on the doorframe and wincing. "Everyone against that wall, facing it, fingers interlaced behind heads?" The five of them obeyed at once. "OK, that's good. Peters. Stay here. If they try anything funny, you know what to do." Standard bluff, a good way to keep them quiet.

"Yes, Sir."

"Cawley, with him. The rest of us pair up and search! Colonel, with me. Teal'c, with Hayden. Go, go, go!" Three pairs of Airmen and the two dogs ran from the room, guns up and ready, beginning the search. Jack's heart was racing. Adrenaline, the adrenaline of combat and hope, the hope of finding Carter. She could be here. She could be in this warehouse.

**Is she? Any comments welcome.**


	13. Alarm

Abduction

**I know how tiny this one is, I'm doing my best.**

Nothing made sense. She couldn't see. She couldn't move. She couldn't feel. Vague words drifted into her mind, incomprehensible.

"Sir, we've got a problem."

"What?"

"The Airforce, they're onto us. They're methodically searching the area. If they continue as they are, they'll be here in three hours."

"OK. Initiate protocols two and six. Torch this place."

"Where are we going?"

"Goodland, Kansas."

"That's the best part of 150 miles!"

"We gotta loose the Airforce for four days. That should be far enough. Keep dosing this one up with Vallium."

"She's on 50mg."

"Well, keep her there."

Blackness.


	14. Pyre

Abduction

**This one is slightly less puny, but these chapters are anything but consistent.**

It was dark now. They had been hunting for Carter all day. The men were tiring but none complained. They had one warehouse left to search. She had to be there. She just had to be. A siren screamed somewhere behind them. A fire truck shot past, overtaking them. They'd be at the warehouse in three minutes. Another siren behind them. A police car followed the fire truck.

"Somebody called 911." The driver observed needlessly as a third siren heralded a second fire truck. A fifteen foot separated them from the warehouse.

"Is that smoke?" One of the retrieval team asked, pointing at grey vapour, rising beyond the wall. It was.

They all slid a little as the truck screamed into the warehouse yard. The driver swore and braked hard.

As Jack looked out of the truck's windscreen, the scene before him made him freeze. He couldn't feel his own body any more. His heart pounded in his ears. The police car was vacant, the cops standing surveying the scene. The fire trucks stood beside them, pouring water onto the warehouse. Except it wasn't a warehouse now. Two walls still stood, but the roof had fallen in on the blazing interior to burn with it. How?

Jack clambered out of the truck and ran over to the cops, shouting,

"What the hell happened here?"

"Airforce?" One of them asked unhurriedly.

"Obviously. Answer the damn question."

"Just a disused warehouse going up. Looks like arson to me. Probably kids on a dare, or just stoned. Trouble is, no CCTV in this area." Arson. They'd burned down the place they'd been keeping Carter. Please, somebody say she'd got out, that she was here somewhere, alive.

"OK!" The retrieval team leader shouted, having listened in. "We wait for the fire lot to finish putting it out, then search for the objective, alive or dead."

"You're looking for someone?" The cop interrupted.

"Yes."

"Major Samantha Carter?"

"Yes."

"Got the alert. Haven't seen nothing."

They waited. Jonas, Teal'c and Fraiser looked almost as fearful as Jack felt. It was an eternity, waiting, powerless. As the last vestiges of the fire died, he almost ran on to the hot rubble, hearing the orders for the perimeter sweep. He wasn't the only one on the building's skeleton now.

"Carter!" The dry, smoky air drained his voice, "Carter!"

Jonas heaved a chunk of plasterboard aside and froze.

"Oh, no." His voice and face were more than fearful now, shocked, pained. "Doctor Fraiser, Colonel, Teal'c, get over here!" Jack slid backwards off the rubble and sprinted round to Jonas. Doctor Fraiser was doing the same from the other side. He got there first and froze, as Jonas had. A body. A human body, burned out of recognition lay before Jonas. No! She couldn't be. Not now, not after all she'd survived. Fraiser appeared next to him. She half gasped, then began to look at the body carefully, holding her hands over it, as if measuring in fists or spans. Teal'c arrived, panting a little.

"It's not Sam Colonel." Fraiser said decisively. "This is a male body." Relief flooded Jack. There was still a chance she was here, alive. He hardly heard Fraiser's order to bag the body up. He was searching again.

For perhaps three minutes, Jack clawed through the hot rubble with his hands, then a retrieval airman's shouted curse made everyone freeze.

"Ah... Doctor Fraiser, you need to see this!" He shouted. Jack followed Fraiser to the Airman, mouth dry. She got there first and restarted her scrutiny, her measuring of another body. Jack drew closer.

"This is the part where you tell me this isn't Carter either." He said. The look Fraiser gave him replaced an answer. No! Oh God, no!


	15. Fleeing

Abduction

**By the way Samdanfan, I'm spending no more than 30 min daily on reading fics.**

The world jolted. Indistinct road noise was all around her. She could feel. She was flat on her back, wrists and ankles tied together.

"Watch your driving." Someone said.

"You wanna take a turn? The suspension in this thing is from the stone age." Could she move? She could still feel the surgical probe in her waistband. She had to see what was around her, had to know. Sam opened her eyes a fraction. She was in a large van, her feet facing towards the front. Two men sat there. She couldn't see past them. To her right the wall of the van. To her left, at least two white-coated men. Everything was blurred, indistinct. She opened her eyes a little wider and instantly regretted it.

"Hey!" A harsh voice beside her. She closed her eyes again at once. Stupid.

"What?" Another voice.

"I... I just gotta check." Sam felt fingers against her eyelids, coaxing her left eye open. She tried, tried so hard to suppress the tremors. She just couldn't. "She's bloody conscious."

"No way. Not on 50mg. Tremor is a symptom of overdose. She's way over safe." A grunt. Pain shot through Sam's face. She grimaced, recoiling from the blow. He'd slapped her.

"Told you. I'll shoot her with 5mg."

"Are you trying to kill her?" No response. Sam felt her wrist being turned over. There was no point in hiding now. She flinched away.

"No." She breathed. "Please don't." She knew she couldn't stop them. This was getting worse and worse. She felt the needle in her skin, knew she could never win, yielded to the drug.


	16. Sanctus

Abduction

**By the way Samdanfan, I'm spending less than 20 min most days reading fics. I'm just having one of those weeks, having been ill and now having a lot to do that I should have been doing while I was ill.**

Jack didn't want to be there. He wanted to be with Fraiser, who was doing the autopsy. He needed to know. Nothing could be worse than this, just not knowing, not even... He was in Hammond's office, listening to him argue with an irritated Agent Barret.

"You have no jurisdiction. We are searching for a member of Airforce personnel. The NID has no business to interfere."

"One member?" Barret riposted. "We're seeking seven. Seven missing in the last 23 days. Our search includes all unidentified bodies."

"I've told you once. You can take the male now. We're currently examining the female. You are welcome to review the results."

"General, we need to compare the female's records to that of missing personnel. Only our forensics can do that. I am not..." A knock at the door made all three of them stop.

"Enter." General Hammond said before Barret could object. Doctor Fraiser pushed the door open, hard.

"Sirs, you need to see this." General Hammond got up. All three men followed Fraiser. If she'd walked any faster she'd have been running. She knew didn't she? She knew if that body, that burnt, destroyed body was Carter.

The autopsy lab was almost deserted. The husk of a body lay on the table. Jack pulled his eyes from it to Fraiser.

"Well?" Fear held him like a vice. He had to know.

Fraiser fixed an X-ray to a light box.

"Right radius and ulna have been broken, then healed. Sam's haven't. And... bone density. This woman didn't to physical work the way Sam does and I'd say she was significantly younger." She could still be alive. Carter was still out there and she could still be alive."

"So how old was this woman?" Why did Barret look so tense?

"Twenty to twenty-five? It's only an estimate. And she stood about..."

"Five foot five." Barret put in, face showing outright pain now. There was an uncomfortable silence.

"Yes." Fraiser said slowly. "Why did you say that?"

"That fits one of the people we're looking for. Leila Abbey. Twenty two years old, five foot five, researcher." Barret paused, drawing breath. "General, can I take them both now?"

"If Doctor Fraiser has finished."

Fraiser nodded. "Go ahead. I'm done."

"Can I make a call General?" Barret said quietly.

"Use my office phone." They both left the room.

"Teal'c and Jonas?" Jack asked Fraiser as soon as they had."

"Were watching. They're looking for you."

**Thanks so much for bearing with me here. I know I'm being slow.**


	17. Dusk

Abduction

**I'm hoping I wont' be quite so slow over the next fortnight, but no guarenteas. Enjoy.**

What? What was going on? Where was she? It didn't take long to come back to her. She'd been abducted. She wasn't moving so she was probably in Goodland now. She felt so groggy. Everything was so slow. Vallium. 55mg in her blood. How the hell was she conscious at all? She didn't try to move. She waited. She waited for her head to clear, for things to make sense.

She had no idea how long she waited, but eventually she opened her eyes a fraction and looked quickly around. She was in what looked like another warehouse, handcuffed to her bed, alone, but for Agent Cross. She opened her eyes fully and met his, turning her head.

"It's today Major." He said. His face was a mask of fear. "They'll kill me today."

Sam shook her head. "No." Her voice was slurred and faint.

"I don't wanna go. I don't wanna die." He was panting now. "I don't wanna die."

"Stop it!" Sam spoke with all the negligible force she could muster. "Don't you dare give up on me now. I am not gonna die here and neither are you."

"You've got three days Major. My time's up. I... I just got something to say to... to... to Cesca." Sam was torn. To pass a legacy to his wife was to accept his fate, but could it be worse than this?

"Go ahead."

"Tell her... tell her what I told you before, and... and that... that if she... if she meets someone else, she... she should go for it. I... I can't bear the thought of her mourning for years." His eyes shone with tears now.

"Tell her so yourself."

"Accept it Major! I'm gonna die and I'm gonna die now. Today. Three days time, they kill you. You can't save yourself. It's over. Can you never bow to fate? It's chosen both of us for death. Accept it!"

Sam's answer was simple. "No." She paused. "I can't and I won't. I'm still alive because I never accept death. It is unacceptable. I fight. I fight and I'm gonna keep fighting."

**The `unnaceptable` line regarding death is one we see in Sam and Jacob at times. This is gratuitous use of a theme.**


	18. Correlation

Abduction

**I know I'm trying everyone's patience. I'm doing the best I can.**

Something unsettled Jonas. They knew how, where and when Sam had been taken, but who by and why remained a mystery. Why had to lead to who by, and that could well lead to her.

The NID had seven missing. One had been found exactly where they'd expected to find Sam. That couldn't be coincidence. It stood to reason that they'd been taken by the same people, for the same reason. What was that reason? It would be easier if he knew who the other six missing NID agents were.

Jonas was walking through the base, level 27, just wandering, thinking. He neared General Hammond's office. Agent Barret emerged, eyes down, looking depressed, understandably.

"Hey! Agent Barret!" Jonas broke into a run. Agent Barret stopped. "Hey I... I'm sorry about Abbey." No answer. "Look, way I see it, she, Major Carter and probably the rest of your missing personell were taken by the same people. We're in this together. It'll be a lot easier to find them if I know who the others you're looking for are."

"O'Riley, Bishop, Grant, King, Singer, Cross." He replied flatly. Then it hit Jonas.

"Cross and Singer? They were at Smalltown, weren't they?"

"So was Bishop. And Abbey, and King, and Grant, and O'Riley." Then it hit them both.

"They all were." Jonas said it first. "Hang on, come with me."

"What?" Agent Barret began to follow Jonas along the corridor, down the stairs to the control room, the nearest computer. Jonas bent over the keyboard and typed a location code into the search bar.

Missing. Missing. Missing. Missing. The word hit Jonas like a wave of water, over and over again. Four gone from that place at precise three-day intervals.

"And the pattern continues with our Agents. 3 day gaps, then, when was Major Carter reported missing?"

"Day before yesterday, so..."

"Someone else goes tomorrow."

"Who? It's obviously something to do with there.

"Symbiotes. Major Carter was infected, wasn't she? So were all the civilians, and all our staff who've gone."

"So anyone who's ever been a host needs protecting tomorrow."


	19. Darkness falls

Abduction

**Enjoy.**

"What's the worse situation you've ever been in Major?" Sam had to think about that for a moment or two before replying.

"I've actually died once. And gone through implantation twice."

"You're kidding, right?" Come on, you've gotta be." Sam smiled and shook her head at him. "No way. How did you manage to die already."

"Got shot by a Goa'uld we were trying to kill. A bunch of friendly, if very patronising, aliens decided to revive us. Wouldn't give us any technology though." Sam was killing time. She could still feel the surgical probe inside her trousers. But, try as she might, she couldn't reach it. She'd been jolted hard at some point. Her escape tool was out of reach. She felt a very definite sense of urgency now. Unless she got out soon, Agent Cross had hours to live.

"Implantation twice?"

"Yeah. The one you saw was the second. The first one was a lot worse. I was giving mouth-to-mouth to an undercover Tok'ra host. The Tok'ra transferred herself to me because an assassin was chasing her, got found out in me, got me locked up, scared the hell out of everyone, we got found by the assassin, she gave her life to save me."

"S'hard to imagine one of those things doing anything for anyone else, or being a female. They don't have genders, do they?"

"This one had always had female host and it thought of itself as a female."

"My one thought it was some sort of god. It was an egocentric, sadistic nut-job."

"Most of them are."

"But obviously not..." Footsteps. Footsteps echoing down a hall. It was over, too late for Agent Cross. She'd failed. His face was a mask of panic. He writhed against his bonds, screaming.

"No! Oh, please no!" Sam couldn't listen. She couldn't bear it. She couldn't block the sound. She dropped back against her bed, closing her eyes, knowing it was futile.

Men's voices, other than Agent Cross's screams.

"OK, charge to 300."

"Hold it." Someone kicked her bed, hard. Sam shifted limply, keeping her eyes closed. "Just checking. OK, go on."

"She's on 55mg."

"She woke up on 50."

"OK, hold him." Sam couldn't ignore it. She could hear him thrashing around, screaming, trying hopelessly to delay the inevitable. She could feel the prickling heat behind her eyes, the rising lump in her throat. No. She mustn't. They'd know she was conscious. "Charge to 300"

"Cesca! Cesca, I love you! Cesca!" He knew it was over. He knew he'd be dead in moments. He was choosing to die not begging for life, not cursing his murderers, but declaring his love to a woman who would never hear it now.

"Clear." Sam heard the dull thump, then death's silence. That would be her in three days time. "OK, take him to theatre."

Sam waited for the silence to be absolute before she moved. She checked she was truly alone, then dropped her head back onto the bed. She'd failed. Agent Cross was gone, like all the others. Tomorrow, another would be brought to take his place, then to die.

Amid the dark, consuming waters, an ember sprang to life. She felt it. Sharp, hard and cold against her leg, jolted there when they'd kicked her bed. The ember was hope, the sharp, hard object the surgical probe, in reach now of her bound right hand. The ember ignited, became a fire of determination. She twisted the probe in her hand and turned it on the cuff. She could do this. She would do this.


	20. Trojan

Abduction

**Sorry, this took a long time. I've had a rather erratic diary this week. Enjoy.**

It was all decided. The NID agents who'd been infected with Goolds would spend the night at NID headquarters and stay there under guard. Under the pretence of some disease outbreak, the small-town had been sealed off. One man, one man stood in reach who'd survived blending. Jack stood looking out over his pond as rain speckled its surface.

He was that man. He was the bait. He was their target. The sons of... had no other targets. In a few minutes time, he'd leave his house, meander around outside it and wait. They would come, Teal'c would hit the lot of them with a stun grenade. They'd be captured, they'd say where they'd been going to take him, he'd go there. After Carter.

Jack drew a slow breath and let it out again, missing the weight of a gun on his hip for an op. He hated being unarmed. The rain was stopping. He stepped out into the damp air.

He lifted the hood on his car, checking the oil, the water, anything else he could think of, this was Carter's thing, alert and waiting. He closed the hood and paced round the car, methodically kicking the tyres.

Tyres on the track. Jack looked up sharply. A white van skidded to a halt. Five pistols pointed at Jack's chest. Amateurs. You used MP5s, P90s, even AK47s, for this sort of work.

"Hands above your head!" One of the men ordered. Any time now with the stun grenade Teal'c. "NOW!" Blinding light flooded Jack's eyes and mind.

"Good timing." He thought, before everything went black.

o0o0o0o

His head ached. Jack opened his eyes blearily and saw Teal'c sitting next to him.

"Hey T." He sat up gingerly, ignoring the protest from his head. "How'd it go?"

"Extremely well O'Neil. All seven men were apprehended without resistance."

" D'you think the stun grenade might have had anything to do with that?" He replied sarcastically. His eyesight was improving a bit, enough to see three gagged, blindfolded and handcuffed men, dressed in black, beginning to stir. "Where are the other four?" Teal'c pointed out of the back window, where Jack could just about see the silhouette of a second truck, against the entrance to the Cheyenne mountain tunnel.

o0o0o0o

Fifteen minutes later, Jack, now in uniform, was jogging towards the cells containing the seven men. Teal'c, Jonas, General Hammond and Barret were already there.

"Shall we begin then?" Agent Barret professional demeanour was back, and better than Jack's.

"I suggest we try them each in turn, all of us together, and see which one looks weakest." Jonas said.

"I say we just pick one and hammer them until we get what we're after." General Hammond replied. "Though, short of excessive physical force, I'm open to suggestions."

"Excessive?" Jack asked lightly. He still felt nothing against hurting these men.

"I'll cough over any mild threats."

"I do agree with General Hammond in this case. These men are probably hired so will not risk their lives to conceal information."

"OK." Jonas raised his hands. "Shall we start with this one?" He indicated the closest door. The SF opened it.

Jack pushed his way in first. Jonas, General Hammond, Agent Barret, Teal'c. He glimpsed the others following him. The man sat at his table, lounging, laid back to all appearances. His eyes called liar. The casual attitude was an act. Jack had done enough interrogations to know.

"Gees! It's about time! I aint done nothin' and I been stuck here for god knows how long."

"You're being held for abduction." General Hammond said shortly.

"S'cuse me? He," The prisoner pointed at Jack, "aint been abducted. He's still here."

"Well fella," Jonas took over. "you look a lot like one of the guys who took Major Carter three days ago."

"Who?" Barefaced lie. Agent Barret slammed his hands down on the table, bringing his face menacingly close to the prisoner's. He spoke through bared teeth.

"How many have you taken?"

"Twenty in all? I dunno. All bad boys, gang wars, y'know?"

"No." Barret's voice was low and menacing. "I'm talking about NID agents. Past two months. O'Rilley. Bishop. Grant. Abbey. King. Singer. Cross."

"How d'you know they aint all on holiday?"

"We found two dead!" Barret literally shouted into the other man's face, a face beginning to flicker with fear. "We found two corpses, burned. Abbey and Grant. You're an aide to murder! I'm asking where the others are!"

"Hey, I'm just a..." The prisoner as falling under the sheer force of Barret's accusation. As for Barret, he homed in, like a shark smelling blood. His formed fist flew as if to deliver a right hook. The prisoner winced away. Barret's hand changed at the last moment, grasping the prisoner's retreating ear and pulling his head forwards. The prisoner raised his own fists to hit Barret away. Jack and Teal'c acted as if by the same thought. They closed in, grasping the prisoner's arms and twisting them behind him. He couldn't move now. Agent Barret's voice was low and menacing. He was playing the prisoner's fear.

"Now I think you know how your targets feel when you close in. Is that what you call them? Targets? Objectives? Well, I've got something to tell you. They're not objects. They're not objectives. They're people. They're sons, daughters, husbands, wives, brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers. I'm only gonna ask this one more time. Just one. Where are they!" Barret's shout echoed in the deafening silence. They waited for the prisoner to break it.

"Hey... I... I don't know everything. The boss's been cranked up since we brought the last one in. Major Carter. Kicked up a fuss, screamed, people noticed." Jack growled quietly. The prisoner spoke faster. "He said we'd screwed up, he couldn't trust us. He moved camp from the warehouse in Denver, torched it too."

"We know." Barret hissed. "That's where we found Grant and Abbey, murdered."

"I haven't been to base since then. I don't know where the rest are. I... I got a hiding for bringing Major Carter rather than anyone else. He said he'd pay me in full two days from now. I think that's when they'll be done with her and, trust me, she won't be alive."

"Where is she?" Jack bellowed into the prisoner's ear which wasn't being held by Barret. The prisoner winced.

"I... I dunno. I told you."

"So what were you planning on doing with Colonel O'Neil?" Jonas put in.

"Who?"

"The man who just yelled down your ear." Barret clarified coldly.

"There... there was a drop off point. They'd meet us there and take him to their new base."

"Where's the drop off?" Barret snapped. Another very pregnant pause.

"Clairmount Cemetery, just out of Stratton."

"See?" Barret's voice was soft now. "That wasn't so hard, was it?" He pulled his hand sharply away from the prisoner's ear. Jack and Teal'c glanced at each other, then released his arms.

Jack began to speak the instant the cell door closed behind them.

"General, permission to take a team..."

"Go." General Hammond didn't even wait for him to finish. Jack turned and set off at a run, Teal'c and Jonas behind him.

**Early on, you were giving me lots of lovely reviews. Now it's basically just Misery loves Sarah and Blue liquorice and bookworm (no hope of me spelling that correctly). **

**I feel a little abandoned.**


	21. Windmils of your mind

Abduction

**Can I just say, thanks for the reviews. I'm sorry I can't reply to the anonymous reviews. Just so you know, most of the chapters from now on will be 1,000 words or over. Enjoy.**

Sam felt the probe slip out of place as another tremor racked her body. It was the Vallium. She grimaced and began to re-align the probe. It was agonising. She had no strength, no source of strength except the drip and a body subject to uncontrollable tremors. She had to keep trying. Her choices were escape or die, she couldn't bank on a rescue. Not now. She had to try. The probe was in place again. She mustn't rush. Firm, slowly increasing the pressure. Please, God, don't let it slip.

Click. A soft, metallic benediction. She'd done it. For a moment, she just lay, grateful. Now, how to do the other hand? Use her right, free hand and risk detection, or slip the probe across and risk someone checking on her? That seemed unlikely. They'd only been approached once daily. They'd... She'd had that now. They'd probably leave her be.

Sam laid the probe as far across her body as she dared, reaching for it with her left hand. Her fingertips brushed it. Too far. She tilted her body a little. The thing slid across the nylon into her reaching fingers. Yes. It wasn't until she looked down at her wrists that she saw the deep welts in them from the cuff. The Vallium. She hadn't felt a thing. This heavily drugged, there was no saying she'd be able to stand, let alone run. She had to try.

Sam made no effort to track time as she worked, left-handed, at the lock, simply aligning and re-aligning the probe. The soft click. She'd done it. She relaxed her entire body, her reward for freeing her hands should be sleep. She was so tired...

No. She had a Vallium overdose. Coma was a symptom. If she slept, she wouldn't wake. It was that simple. In order to free her legs, she had to sit up, which would probably set the alarm off. It could well be silent. She'd just have to work as fast as the Vallium permitted, then run. There was a fire escape to her right. She'd try that first. OK. On three. One, two, three.

Sam forced her body up from the bed. The world reeled and span. Dizziness. The Vallium. Her feet still swayed before her as she began to work at their cuffs. It took her only two attempts. She swung her legs from the bed, tore the drip from her arm and stood up. Her legs crumpled like paper and she fell to the floor. She couldn't do it.

"Major Carter." The deep voice beside her made her look up.

"Teal'c?"

"On your feet. You must run."

"Teal'c, I can't."

"Run!" Sam gathered her shaking legs under her body, forcing herself to her feet, then staggered for the fire escape. "Major Carter, you must hurry." Sam fell against the `push to open` bar and dropped to her knees as the door gave way. The world span around her. Her ears rang. She looked round for Teal'c. He was gone. He'd never been there. Vallium. She'd hallucinated.

She pulled on the bar until she found her feet. She could see a little better now. She'd emerged into a narrow passage. She could see what looked like a yard to her left at the passage's end. Two black vans stood there. To her right, she could hear a road. That was where she should go.

"Sam, don't." She looked dazedly back to her left. She was hallucinating again. She knew it. She ignored the vision to her left. "No, really, don't." The light Boston accent, familiar face, were painful to behold. It had been a year since she'd seen him last. "Look, if nothing else, come here and close that door." Daniel was giving her some good advice. She fell against the wall and kicked the door closed behind her. "This way." He indicated the vans, the yard.

"Why?" There could be no harm in listening to him. He was just a hallucination. He'd keep her conscious till this surge of dizziness had passed.

"Sam, I know what you're thinking." He spoke as fast as she remembered. "You get to the road, public view, they'll leave you be. You won't make it. They'll catch you. That's what they're expecting."

"I've got to try. " Her voice was weak and shaking.

"No, Sam, there's another way. See this wall?" Sam nodded, panting. It was about 7'' high, forming the other side of the passage. "On the other side, there's another warehouse, open. They won't look for you there."

"I can't get over this." Sam gasped, jerking her head at the wall. In response, Daniel looked at the vans behind him.

"Not from the ground." Sam shook her head.

"No. I can't. I'm not..."

"Sam, you've got to try. Now." Sam looked at the vans again. Normally, she'd be able to do it, but this heavily drugged? He was right. She had to try. She began to stagger along the passage, leaning against the wall to stay upright. Her progress was tortuously slow. Surely they'd be waiting for her at the other end. The hallucination, Daniel, stayed just ahead of her, coaxing her on.

It seemed an age later that she staggered into the vans' yard, falling against the hood of the nearest. She looked around, expecting to see guns, armed men. She was alone, by some miracle alone, but for Daniel, who wasn't really there.

"Go, go, climb up." His voice was hushed, urgent, as he looked around for danger. Sam didn't reply. She'd need all her strength for this. She braced her shaking arms against the hood, kicked against the ground and hauled herself onto it, scraping her legs against the vents. She still felt no pain and it worried her. Not now.

She couldn't get over the wall from where she was, she'd have to get onto the roof of the van. Six feet of smooth, sloping glass stood in her way. Sam lurched forwards, the world reeled round her, making her freeze. When she dared, she slowly began to push herself straight, laying her body flat to the windshield. The dizziness remained manageable. She lifted her hands to the roof of the van, bracing them against it. She needed a foothold of some kind when she was this weak.

"Wing mirror." Daniel intoned. Sam lifted her right foot in response, feeling for it. There it was. She began to lift with three of four limbs. Why was it this hard? If felt like she had at least fifty pounds on her back. She should be able to do this easily. Vallium. She was so helpless. She dragged her left knee onto the roof and crawled forwards. She was on the roof. She just stopped there, on her hands and knees, panting.

"No, Sam, no. Move. They'll see you." Daniel hissed. Sam was too far gone, too exhausted to argue. She looked at the wall. It was maybe a foot wide, three foot from the van. This wouldn't be easy. She crawled to the edge of her perch and reached. Her fingertips brushed the top of the wall. She'd just have to push herself away from the van and trust in her arms. Her weak, tremulous arms.

She stretched them before her, ready to brace. If she fell... No. She could do this.

Sam threw weight forwards, onto her hands. She froze. She'd done it. She was bridged between the van and the wall. Now to bring her feet over. She shifted her left foot a little to take the strain and cautiously lifted her right leg. Nothing gave. She twisted a little and rested it on the wall. She lifted her other leg...

Falling. To shocked even to cry out, Sam fell. The world span. How had that happened? Impact tore through her body: shoulder, back, hips, head, limbs. Her eyes were closed. She barely had the strength to open them. She tasted blood. The ringing in her ears was deafening. She couldn't do it anymore. Whichever side of the wall she was on, she could do no more. She yielded to the blackness.

**So which side?**


	22. Following

Abduction

**I know I'm a cliffhanger person by habit, but this one isn't as bad. Enjoy.**

Clairmont Cemetery. The sign was old and faded. Jack sat with Teal'c and the retrieval team in the van which they'd tried to take him in. Fraiser, Jonas and the other retrieval team followed some distance behind. They were armed. They'd get them. They'd get them and find Carter, alive or... No. Alive. He had to believe.

"OK, stand by." The driver said. "This thing handles like a dog with two legs" The cemetery was deserted, but for one van, white, in the far corner. The cemetery was vast, row on row of headstones, each marking the passage of someone's parent, lover, child. He wasn't going to let Carter join them.

The van had slowed to a crawl as it approached the other. Jack re-checked his MP5. Teal'c was also using one in place of his staff, which was just too big for the van. The black van halted ten feet from the white one. The silence that followed was charged.

"OK, here I go." The driver murmured as he climbed out of the van. Everyone else was standing, ready, at the doors of the van.

"What took you so long?" The man who emerged from the black van snarled.

"Losing a tail, took the scenic route."

"Where's the objective?"

"In the back. Go take a look." Teal'c crouched behind the van's doors levelled his fist.

He never had a chance. He didn't even have time to cry out. The man just fell away from Teal'c. The driver strolled back into view and took his MP5 from Cawley. Peters handcuffed the man. They were all looking at Jack.

He gave the signal. All seven men burst from the black van, racing to surround the white one. Gunfire. Shots broke one window. Retaliatory shots from the white van. Peters cried out and fell.

"Man down!" Cawley's voice was harsh, vengeful as he threw a smoke grenade through the smashed window. "Get a medic up here!" Smoke began to pour from the grenade, filling the van. The sound of at least two men coughing obscured the retrieval team leader's call for backup, call for Fraiser.

"OK, going in!" Jack shouted to the men who were still standing. One didn't react. Jack saw him crouch by Peters, saying,

"Hey, kid, it's OK. Fraiser'll be here in a minute, you're gonna be OK." Jack heard no more. He was at the back of the van now. Teal'c opened the doors. As one, they ducked. Pistol shots cracked inside the van. The men in it were firing blind, they couldn't see for the dense, grey haze.

14 shots. That was it, aside the coughing.

"Come out with your hands up!" The retrieval team leader called. There was a brief pause. "I count to ten, then we start shooting!" An empty, but effective, threat.

Two spluttering men with streaming eyes and white coats emerged, hands at head height. The driver and Hayden bound them, while the leader kept them covered. There was hardly any need. They were still in the throes of the smoke's coughing fit. Nevertheless, Jack had to recognise well-trained, efficient men.

As the driver and Hayden stepped back, the leader approached, his face a hard, angry mask. For a moment, he just stood, glaring. Then, without warning, he punched them one after the other in the abdomens. The coughing redoubled.

"For Peters." He said coldly. He grabbed one by the arm, Hayden took the other. The prisoners were frog-marched back to the front of the van. Jack, Teal'c and the driver followed.

Peters was flat on his back, panting and grimacing. Fraiser and Cawley knelt beside him. God, Peters was young. 20? 21? No more.

"OK. That's the worst over." Fraiser's voice was calm, steadying, "Now I just gotta bind you up, OK?" Peters nodded grimly. "The morphine I gave you will kick in soon. That'll help."

"Hang on kid." Cawley had one hand on Peter's uninjured shoulder. "For a first bullet wound, you're takin' it well. You're doin' well."

"Colonel." Evidently satisfied that Peters would be OK, the retrieval team leader turned to Jack. "I know I broke regs. hitting these sons of bitches, but they shot a member of my team. I'll face court martial for it, but my team always has to come first. Six inches right and Peters could be dead now. I don't like to see my team hurt." Jack knew how the man felt. That was how he commanded. The lives of his team were critical. Protecting them, Teal'c, Jonas, Daniel (yeah, he'd done real well at that), Carter, was almost always first on his agenda. Carter. She could be dead by now. But she could be alive. For as long as he could believe that, he could never stop hunting her.

"Did you hit them?" Jack said blankly. "I didn't see." The leader didn't answer at once, so Jack raised his voice and continued. "Of course, you won't see me hitting them either." The leader got it this time.

"No, Sir."

"Of course," Jack turned very deliberately to the two men. "that's only if they don't tell me where they were planning on taking their `cargo`."

"We won't talk." One said

"Ah..." Fraiser had evidently overheard, "Can someone get a stretcher so I can get Peters into the van?" and decided she didn't want to be involved.

"Hey!" Jonas jogged round from the Air Force Truck. "What happened? The guys wouldn't let me out until the area was secure."

"We have apprehended all those in the van, though Airman Peters was injured."

"I saw. Are these guys talking?"

"No. And we won't be." Jack turned slowly to face the speaker, feeling cold anger rise behind his eyes

"Won't you?"


	23. Alone

Abduction

**I'm genuinely sorry for how long this has taken me. I've been insaneyly busy this week. It takes me perhaps an hour to half an hour to do each chapter. I haven't even had that. I'm really sorry. Enjoy.**

"Carter." Sam stirred feebly in response to the call. "Hey, Carter." God, she hurt, shoulders, head, back, arm. "Carter, wake up." A man's voice. Colonel O'Neill's. She opened her eyes. He was somewhere above her. Crouching next to her.

"Sir." Her voice was slurred. Vallium. She couldn't see much. It all came back. Had she made it over? Which side of the wall was she on? Her vision was clearing. No sign of the vans. She seemed to be lying on cardboard boxes, behind a huge steel bin.

"See?" You did it." She had done it. She'd made it.

"So what now, Sir?"

"You're the genius Carter. You tell me."

"I don't know. I got out. That's all I planned."

"So... what do you want to happen?"

"I want to get back to the SGC. I need to be found by you, not the guys who took me."

"So..."

"I could try calling you."

"OK. That'd work."

"Problem is, I don't have money, or a cell phone. I can't go in there." Sam gestured towards the other warehouse. "What if they're in there?"

"So...?" It took her a moment to form an answer.

"I guess my best hope is the police. But how do I reach them without exposing myself to the people who killed Cross?"

"Carter, what are the effects of Vallium poisoning?"

"Weakness, tremor, bluish extremities, tiredness, dizziness, hallucination, blurred vision, ringing in the ears, coma and ultimately death."

"And you've got some sort of time-release capsule somewhere."

"Yessir."

"Face it Carter. You need help. You're not gonna get it lying behind a bin. You need to move."

"And I'm less likely to fall into a coma standing up."

"OK" Sam braced her hands against the soggy cardboard behind her and shivered with cold. Her flimsy, nylon, surgical gown and trousers were wet through. Moving around would help. She pushed her torso upright.

Her world bucked and twisted. The dizziness was back with a vengeance.

"Hey, hey, Carter, I got you." She felt his hands on her shoulders, holding her steady, and knew he wasn't real. "It's alright." He released her shoulders and pulled her body into his, holding her while the dizziness faded. He wasn't real. She had to remember it. He released her a little to nudge her face closer to his. "I have to go now."

"No. Please don't." She sounded so weak again.

"Carter, you're smart. You know I was never even here. You can do this."

"No. Don't go. Please." She knew it was futile. He disappeared from around her. "Jack!" Her last call died on the air. It had been too loud. It had put her in danger. She had to move, before anyone investigated her voice. There was a metal ledge on the side of the bin. She reached for it. The cold metal bit her blue fingertips. She pulled herself to her feet. The world became a vortex. She spread her legs, panting. It felt like a long time before she was ready to walk.

She peered nervously round the bin. No one in sight. She began to pick her way drunkenly towards the next bin. She felt the loose stones on the asphalt bit her feet, digging in. It hurt. It hurt to walk. She fell against the next bin and jerked in pain as her left upper arm hit the wall. Why had it hurt that much?

Gingerly, Sam began to feel her arm, starting at the elbow, creeping shyly up towards her shoulder. There. God, how had she not noticed? A hard lump embedded in her flesh, about the size of a pen lid. A tumour? No way. Not that quickly. The time release capsule. No, that wasn't a time release capsule. She'd seen stranger.

Janet. She needed Janet. The only way to get to Janet was to reach the SGC. The only way to do that was through the police. To get to the police, she had to move.

Sam lifted her foot and picked off the little stones beginning to embed themselves there. Her feet were starting to bleed in a few places. She didn't doubt they'd get much worse. She could see the open warehouse gates now. That was where she had to aim for. She staggered forwards, fear of the drug an added spur. Her gait was drunken. She moved so slowly. She could feel the Vallium dragging at her mind, urging her to sleep. She mustn't.

"Sam." Daniel's voice made her look up. "Come on." He turned and began to walk just ahead of her. She followed, fighting to keep up. Where was he leading her? Towards the gates for now, but where then? No, where was her subconscious leading her. Daniel had come from inside her head, but she was willing to play along.

When, at last, they reached the gates, Daniel turned right, gesturing Sam to hurry. She was hampered by hunger, thirst, Vallium and now her feet which oozed a constant trickle of blood. She doubted that, in her situation, he'd have done much better.

"Come on." He mouthed at her. "They'll be out here in a few minutes." She nodded. She was trying. She could do no more. Thirst burned her parched throat, she hadn't drunk for three days. If not for her IV, she'd be all but dead. Hunger clawed her abdomen. She was weak from lack of food. The Vallium clouded her mind, she was at almost triple the safe dose and drugged more than heavily enough to put her out indefinitely. Pain knifed at the soles of her feet, already they were growing slick with blood, her blood. Only fear kept her moving, the very fear that made her sentient, the fear of her own death.

Daniel led her on. She had no idea where he was leading her. She didn't really care, so long as it was away from Cross's murderers.

Sam didn't know how long she walked through the deserted streets, the sun was high, most people would be at work. Twice she saw something move in the shadows, something undefined, unknowledgeable, unearthly, dredged from unplumbed regions of her subconscious, nightmare worlds. She didn't dare look now. She only watched Daniel. Better to walk blind than acknowledge the demos.

She watched Daniel round a corner and slip out of sight. She followed, eager to see his comforting form again. She rounded the corner.

Panic flooded her. He was nowhere in sight. She looked around frantically, feeling desolation slide over the panic. She was alone now. Utterly alone. She always had been. She felt desperate tears sting her eyes.

Her vision swam, black rising. A surge of dizziness made her stagger where she stood, almost falling. Damn it. She was blacking out! No! She had to fight.

"Woah, sister." A woman's voice. Hands on her from behind, keeping her from falling. "You don't look so good."

"Daniel." She moaned. She had to find him.

"You lookin' for ah... Daniel?" Sam didn't respond. The drug was claiming her, she knew it. "Why don't you come with me for a sec, then when you're feeling better, I'll help you find him. I'm looking for someone too." Sam couldn't stop the other woman from leading her away. Her struggling didn't go unnoticed. "Hey, easy, I'm serious. I wanna help you. You're in a bad way right now. I can't just leave you on the street." Sam knew she couldn't win, there was no point in using up her tiny reserves of energy for a lost cause. As she allowed herself to be led away to whatever awaited her, the world dissolved to black.


	24. Cry of the hunters

Abduction

**I'm sorry this has taken so long. I've just got so much to do right now. I'm still not getting the half-hour or so to myself I was using to do this. I couldn't tell you when I will.**

It had taken over an hour to wring out of the resistant, and now very bruised, men where they would have taken Jack. Too long. God knew what Carter had been subjected to in that time. They were headed for a warehouse in Goodland. ETA: Two hours. The teams were split between three vans now: Jack, Teal'c and most of the first retrieval team in the black van, almost all of the second retrieval team and Jonas in the Air Force Truck, Fraiser, Peter, Cawley and the second retrieval team's reserve driver in the white van. The first retrieval team had been in significantly better spirits since Fraiser had said that Peters's prognosis was good.

They'd handed over their three captives to local police, saying that they'd `resisted arrest`. Hammond was sending a pick-up for them. It was highly unlikely Jack'd be brought up on a charge for hitting them. None of the retrieval team would talk. In their leader's opinion, Jack had been defending one of his own, like they'd defended Peters.

o0o0o0o

It was a long two hours. The driver stubbornly refused to go faster than 90, even on the freeway, saying the van wouldn't stand for it. To make matters worse, the driver was warned of a very severe accident on the freeway just beyond Goodland so took a longer route to avoid the impending pile-up.

By the time they got to the area, tempers were frayed, particularly Jack's, though the retrieval team didn't seem to think Peters's wound had been avenged enough either.

"Arriving in about one minute." The driver's voice jerked Jack back to the present. He checked his MP5 for the thousandth time. Everyone knew the drill. The open warehouse gates stood before them. The van squealed to a halt.

Almost before its momentum had left them, all five men had vacated the van. Jack saw the Air Force truck and its human cargo (except Jonas) mimic them. All ten soldiers had taken cover, waiting for his signal. His order. He could feel the adrenaline pulsing through his body, channelling his fear and anger for Carter, strengthening him, preparing him for the fight. He glanced at both leaders. They were watching him, like their men. He motioned them to wait.

A second later, he saw why he had. Two men slunk out of the shadows on each side of the warehouse. If his men had advanced first, the diagonals fire would have been devastating.

Jack's cold anger, held back for too long, levelled his gun from behind the crate and fired it. He saw a man cry out and fall, dropping his semi-automatic to clutch at his arm. The other three cried out and fell too, alive or dead, Jack neither knew nor cared. Most of the guns on his side had fired.

Jack gave his orders with his hands.

You, you stay here. Guard the gate. Everyone else, attack in four, three, two, one.

Ten men burst from cover, vaulting, rounding, or charging down crates and boxes. Adrenaline and vengeful, protective anger powered Jack's long, strong strides towards the double doors ahead.

He skidded to a halt, kicking the doors open and twisting aside as a rattle of sub-machine gun fire made everyone drop. The rattle stopped. Someone was retreating from the doors, no doubt seeking cover. The retrieval teams needed no orders. Two men ran to each side of the warehouse. Jack, Teal'c, the first team's leader and Hayden formed up beside the doors.

A grenade rolled out, stopping at Teal'c's feet. A warning formed in Jack's mouth, but before he could shout it, Teal'c had lifted the grenade and thrown it back where it had come from

The tell-tale boom, followed by a drawn cry of pain told Jack to press his advantage. The others followed him into the warehouse. It was a small, cramped the room, the grenade's legacy was clearly visible; a blackened area and a man moaning in pain, bleeding from both legs.

"Take his weapons." Jack ordered. "We'll come back for him." Ignoring the wounded man's pleas, Hayden obeyed. The four of them slunk on into a broad corridor. Jack could feel it now. This was the work he'd been made for. Combat. Close, harsh, merciless combat. The primitive tension, kill or be killed, was why he was in the armed forces, why he'd lied to get there, why he was leading the show now.

Double doors to the right. They formed up. As one, they threw them open, four powerful guns sweeping the room. The two hands clutching a pistol dropped it and raised themselves above their owner's head.

"Turn around, face the wall, keep your hands there." Jack ordered. "Hayden, search him." As both men obeyed, Jack took in his surroundings. Nearest him, what looked like a surgical table, green drapes, neatly aligned surgical tools gleaming close at hand. Two laptops standing ready, turned off, beside a magnet. They'd been wiped. One wall was a long line of equipment: a set of, what were they called? EEG somethings? The things Fraiser put on people's heads to keep an eye on their brains. He knew that one was a centrifuge. A row of unopened syringes. Some machines with unspellable, unpronounceable names. What the hell had they been doing to her? A screen hid a corner of the room, which turned out to be full of X-ray stuff, or something. He needed Fraiser to get a look at this.

They had to keep moving. They bound the man they'd found in the X-ray booth (whatever it was, it included restraints) and moved on.


	25. 911

Abduction

**That was a bit better in terms of time. I'm only sorry it's so short. Next one will be longer. Enjoy.**

"911. Which service do you require?"

"Ambulance."

"Connecting." A pause. "Hello, can I take you name and number?"

She said her name. "I'm calling from 09816 133209."

"What's the nature of the emergency?"

"I found a woman staggering about in the street. I went over to her, she seemed to be delirious, I started getting her inside and she's collapsed, right inside the front door."

"Is she breathing?"

"Uh-huh."

"Pulse?"

"Kinda faint. Bit slow, about 50-55?"

"And she's not conscious at all."

"No."

"How old would you say she is?"

"Mid thirties? I don't know. She's wearing like... surgical stuff. The colour of operation drapes. I'm thinking she might have got out of a hospital somewhere or something."

"Can you describe her to me?"

"Ah... she's tall, real tall for a woman. 5'7? 5'8? Blonde hair, short, not even close to her shoulders."

"Did you get a name?"

"No. She kept saying "Daniel" if that helps."

"Natural blonde?"

"If not, very recently and professionally dyed."

"OK. Where exactly did you find her?"

"Outside number 7, Walnut Avenue, Goodland."

"Is that where you are now?"

"Yes, inside number 7."

"That's Walnut as in the nut?"

"Yes."

"OK. We're dealing with a severe incident on the freeway right now. It could be a while before anyone gets to you. Put her in the recovery position, so long as she's got vitals. When someone does reach you, it might be the police. Just hang in there."

"OK."


	26. Muddy water

Abduction

**Enjoy.**

The entire premises had been searched, top to bottom, twice. There was no sign of her, other than a strong scent on one of the two beds found in the warehouse. Both had had handcuffs attached.

The prisoners were all in the room with the beds, all handcuffed, some being mutely bandaged by an anxious Fraiser, when Jack stormed back in.

"Where the hell is she?"

"I was hoping you'd tell us." A white-coated man said coolly. "Ouch! Where did you learn to bandage woman, preschool?"

"I could have just left you to bleed. It would have killed you." Fraiser replied, yet more coolly. "I take it there's no sign of her then, Colonel?"

"She WAS here. We know she was. What have you done with her?" Jack saw the man sense the threat.

"Not what I was planning on. She's a head case. We haven't seen her since 6:45 AM."

"What?"

"Your little Houdini did a runner. If I knew how, or where to, she'd be back here by now."

"Sir." One of the dog handlers came in at a jog. " We're getting a lot of false leads with the dogs." Major Carter went out of the room she was in by a fire escape, but beyond that... The dew was just so heavy this morning Sir. It's tough on the dogs. But they'll get there. Don't worry. They're smart. Smarter than us sometimes. They'll get there."

"Just keep at it." Jack answered. The dog handler jogged off again. Dead ends and fog banks. That was what they'd found here. Jack turned back to the white coated man. "What did you do to find her?"

"Swept the whole place. Three times. She didn't leave by the front gates either."

"And?"

"What do you think? Unless she can jump a 7' wall, she's still here. I'd guess she's out of it." The double doors burst open again.

"O'Neill."

"T?"

"We have discovered this device. It appears Goa'uld in design, but I do not recognise it." It did look distinctly Gooldy. Brassy, about half the size of a pen lid again, ornate, Daniel-style symbols all over it... the works.

"What the hell's that?" Jack asked the man again.

"Subcutaneous time release capsule if you really wanna know. Watch it woman!"

"What the hell is that?" Jack repeated, more slowly.

"A thing that goes under the skin and releases drugs. We put one in Houdini to keep her quiet."

"Keep her quiet?" Fraiser interrupted.

"Yes, I didn't like to say `sedated` in case you didn't understand me." Fraiser ignored the taunt.

"With what?"

"I think that might be over your head."

"Answer the damn question!" Jack's threat made the man flinch

"Vallium."

"How much?" Fraiser asked tentatively.

"As much as we needed to keep her out."

"How much?" Fraiser looked afraid now.

"Why? Ask her yourself, if you find her. If not, it doesn't matter, does it?"

"How much!" Fraiser shouted, stepping up close, revealing the height difference to perfection. The man wavered then yielded.

"Fifty-five mg."

"Fifty-five mg? Oh my..." Fraiser tailed off, leaving her head in her hands. She looked up again.

"Explain?" Jack hadn't understood half of the last thirty seconds.

"Sam's very resistant to Vallium. I don't know for sure, but I think her first symbiote taught her body to break it down. Twenty mg would put a normal woman her size out, she needs fifty to be out for any length of time. I don't dare give her any more. If I gave myself fifty-five mg, I'd drop dead. He's right. On fifty-five mg, she won't have got far. I'm amazed she could stand up. How long has she been on that dose?"

"About 12 hours."

"And the time release capsule is still dosing her."

"Yes."

"Oh my God. Colonel, we have to find her."

**By the way, any comment on the woman who found Sam? Friend or foe?**


	27. Omega

Abduction

**So you know, `o0o0o0o` indicates change in narrator. I feel I have to clarify that. Enjoy.**

What? Where? How? Why?

Sam opened her eyes a fraction. Everything was slightly blurred. Vallium.

She was lying on her side, in the recovery position. The carpet under her was old, musty smelling. Someone was holding her hand, monitoring her pulse.

A violent tremor racked her body.

"Hey, sh." A soft, woman's voice sounded somewhere "It's OK." Sam opened her eyes fully. The image of a woman, a younger, olive-skinned, black-haired woman came reluctantly into focus. She was kneeling beside Sam, taking her pulse. "You're awake." The woman smiled.

"Where... where am I?" Sam's voice was heavy, slurred with sedative. She could feel the capsule in her arm. It was killing her slowly. She knew it.

"Seven, Walnut Avenue. I'm renting the place. I live in DC. Where are you from?"

"Colorado." Sam knew what the stranger was trying to do; keep her talking, keep her conscious. "Phone." She said weakly. "I need to call..."

"I already called 911 for you."

"No." It took all of Sam's strength to talk. "I have to call the Air Force. I was abducted." Sam saw the woman's eyes widen. She felt a cell phone in her hand.

"Go on. Call."

Sam clenched against the tremors as she dialled, feeling the exertion burn her arms. She was so weak. She finished dialling and forced the phone's weight to her uppermost ear and let her arm go limp.

"Cheyenne Mountain Complex."

"This is Major Carter. I need to speak to General Hammond immediately." The airman obeyed her slurred order. A tone then,

"Hammond."

"Sir, this is Carter. I need assistance."

"It's good to hear your voice Major. I've got a unit out looking for you. Where should I send them."

"'m at seven, Walnut Avenue..."

"Goodland." The woman put in.

"Goodland. Suspect severe Vallium poisoning intravenously."

"The team is in Goodland Major. I'll have them with you inside of half an hour."

"Thank you Sir." He hung up.

"You were abducted?" The woman asked. Sam nodded mutely, panting a little. "I'm here looking for someone. He might have been abducted, the police say."

"Think he didn't just run off?"

"No. Not my Ben. He wouldn't do that to me. He's not that kinda guy."

"Boyfriend?"

"No, I'm his wife." She twisted her left wrist to show a fine, gold ring on her hand. "He's out there somewhere."

o0o0o0o

"Colonel!" One of the drivers was running towards Jack, Teal'c and Jonas. "General Hammond on the radio for you, urgently." Jack followed the man, with Teal'c and Jonas flanking him, back to the Air Force truck.

Jack grabbed the radio.

"General."

"Colonel, I just got a call from Major Carter. She's at Seven, Walnut Avenue, Goodland. She says she's got Vallium poisoning. Take Doctor Fraiser and go."

"You don't have to tell me, Sir, over and out." Jack turned on his heel and ran back for Fraiser. His pulse was racing. He nearly had her. So nearly. Please, please let her be there, let her be safe. Oh, please.

o0o0o0o

"How long have they been looking for you?"

"Don't know. I've been missing four days."

"It's been a week since I've seen Ben now. I really miss him."

"I bet."

"You got anyone special waiting?"

"No. Unless you count my work team; Jonas, T, my commanding officer..."

o0o0o0o

Fraiser scrambled into the van, slamming the door.

"Let's go." She called to the driver.

"Do you think..." Jack began.

"I can't say without seeing her." She answered his unasked question. "With Vallium, you either recover completely, or you die. Which way she'll go, I have no idea, but on 55mg..."

o0o0o0o

"How do you feel?"

"No change, just as bad."

"Ever been stoned before?"

"Not on purpose."

"I was. Once. I was only 16. It was at someone's party. I swear, never again."

o0o0o0o

"We're nearly there." The driver called back to Jack, Teal'c, Jonas and Fraiser. Jack could see the tension on her face, and on Jonas's, less on Teal'c's. She had to be there, alive. She just had to. If he lost her... She had to be alive.

o0o0o0o

Tyres outside. Both women fell silent. Friend or foe? There to help her, or to kill her? Hurried footsteps. A hard knock at the door.


	28. Fighting

Abduction

**Enjoy.**

The truck halted. Jack scrambled out, followed by everyone else. Number seven. Number seven. There!

He started for it, stumbling to a halt and thudding a clenched fist against the closed door.

There was an agonising pause. All four stood frozen. Then a black-haired woman opened the door on a chain, blocking his view of the inside.

"You are?" She asked defensively.

"Colonel Jack O'Neill, US Air Force. Where's Carter?"

"How's your cat?" Jack was stalled for a second by the abruptness of the question.

"I don't have a cat." He answered shortly.

"OK. Come in." She took the door off the chain.

There she was. After so long. Carter lay on the hall carpet, on her side, breath coming in hard, rasping gasps. She lifted her head a fraction and looked at him. Her eyes were dull, misted. She looked bad, like when Apophis had finished with her on Netu. Jack had only a moment to register this, before Fraiser elbowed past him, crouching next to Carter's prone form.

"OK, Sam. You're gonna be fine, just stay with me, alright?" She slid a hand onto Carter's wrist. "Let's get her into the van." Teal'c forced his way past Jack,

"You saved my life." Carter's voice was barely above a whisper as she spoke to the black-haired woman. "I don't even know your name."

"Cesca. Francesca Cross." She replied as Teal'c bent to lift Carter. Pain flooded Carter's dull eyes as Teal'c lifted her away towards the van as easily as if she were a rag doll. Jack, Jonas and Fraiser followed him. They had her now. She was going to be alright.

Teal'c laid her down on the bed in the middle of the van. It wasn't until Jack sat down that he realised he was shaking. Not from fear, but from the release of it. Carter was there in front of him, weak and breathing as hard as he was, but alive. Very alive.

"Sam, you've got a time release capsule somewhere inside you. Do you have any idea where it is?" Fraiser climbed into the van.

"Left arm." Carter breathed. Those two words seemed to cost her so much. Fraiser reached for Sam's left arm, the arm further from Jack, and began to feel along Carter's bare skin.

"OK, here it is." Fraiser's hand stopped about half way up Carter's upper arm. "Colonel talk to her. We need her to stay conscious." What the hell about? "Teal'c, pass me the bag."

"Carter, how'd you get out?" It was all he could think of. Fraiser was gloving up. "You were drugged and handcuffed, right?"

"Teal'c hold her arm there, about this tight." Teal'c emcompassed Carter's limp arm with one massive hand. Fraiser began to swab Carter's arm with something.

"You're not gonna just cut her open?" Jonas exclaimed as Fraiser produced a scalpel.

"S'no other way." Carter moaned. She was breathing faster now. She knew what was about to happen. She knew how much it would hurt. She knew what she was about to go through.

"Aren't you going to give her anything?" Jonas started.

"She's way into overdose." Fraiser replied. "If I give her any more, her hear could just stop." Fraiser pinched Carter's arm hard. "You feel that?"

"Not really." Jack could see the tension in her face, a face turned determinedly away.

Fraiser drew a slow steadying breath, released it and laid the sharp, shining steel into Carter's skin. Red fluid seeped into its wake. Carter grimaced, her mouth opening in a silent cry of pain.

"I feel that."

"I'd be terrified if you didn't." Fraiser looked almost as frightened as Carter as she deepened and lengthened the wound, her gloved hands reddening. Jonas looked determinedly away. Jack couldn't. His eyes were fixed as if by a hand device. He couldn't look away.

"You still haven't answered my question Carter." Jack spoke without looking at her face.

"Picked the cuffs." Her breath came fast, gasping.

"With what?" Jack saw Fraiser begin to probe the gaping, bleeding wound. Carter stifled a cry, then replied.

"Surgical probe" Through clenched teeth. Jack looked back at her face. Her eyes were closed in pain, or fear. She was more conscious now. He could see how much it was costing her not to struggle, to writhe, to scream in pain.

"How did you get one?" Fraiser seemed to have got to the time release capsule. As she began to work it lose, Carter stifled another cry, still gasping for breath. "Carter, how did you get a probe?"

"Instrument tray." She panted, eyes still closed. "Left me next to one, drugged, not tied. Lost the scalpel." She gasped as Fraiser withdrew the capsule from her arm. Identical to the one they'd found in the warehouse. He looked back at Carter.

"Sam, that's the worst over. The capsule's out." Fraiser cut in, preparing a suture needle.

"Why did they give you so much anyway?"

"Kept waking up. Started at twenty, then forty, then fifty, then fifty five." Jack cast around quickly for another question. Before one would form, Carter spoke again. "Sir, they took the NID agents too."

"We know."

"Cross is dead." There was a momentary silence aside Carter's panting. "Think they all are."

"We found two. We thought you were one of them. That scared us." Carter didn't answer, just lay there, eyes half closed, evidently in less pain now. "Hey, don't go dropping off." Jack snapped. He couldn't let her sleep.

"Sorry Sir." Fraiser cut the last suture.

"Get us back to the SGC ASAP. I need to get her on dialysis." She called to the driver.

"Four hour drive Ma'am, at least." He replied.

"Four hours?" Fraiser asked incredulously. "Then I guess it's up to you, Sam. There's not much I can do here. Just stay with us, OK? All I can do is give you fluids." The resignation in Fraiser's voice and movements as she set up an IV made Jack slip his hand into Carter's. Four hours, four minutes, four days, it didn't matter. He wasn't going to let her go.

**I want you to ask yourself a question: Can a halucination only tell you what you already know?**

**If so, what was going on with Daniel? Sam couldn't have known where her captors would look for her.**


	29. Epilogue: Closure

Abduction

**Here it is, the final chapter. Enjoy.**

Sam sank back into her pillows as Colonel O'Neill left the room. Her left arm ached from hours of dialysis, which had only ended minutes ago. Jonas, Teal'c and the Colonel had kept her company through the hours of trying to stay awake, against the receding Vallium. She still felt tired, but nowhere near as bad. She could sleep now. She closed her eyes.

A soft knock on the infirmary door frame. Voices. Hushed voices. Sam tried to make them out.

"... needs to rest right now. She's been through enough to kill most people." Janet's southern accent.

"But she's stable?" Was that Agent Barret?

"Yes, she is. I know she's not in immediate danger, but she is close to exhaustion."

"I'll need ten minutes, if that." It was Agent Barret. "Doctor, lots of our people died in there. You can understand why we want to talk to the survivor."

"Does it have to be right now? Can't you wait till she wakes up?" Sam knew the source of the argument. Her. Janet was trying to keep Agent Barret from talking to her. Sam knew she'd have to face the NID sooner or later. She was awake enough now, and it would hang over her until she did. She opened her eyes.

"It's OK Janet." Janet turned her back on Agent Barret and approached Sam.

"I thought you were asleep. You need it."

"I can wait ten minutes." Sam could see Janet's mental battle. To make her sleep now, and face Agent Barret later, or to get it over with. She straightened up.

"Ten minutes. I'll hold you to that." She walked away. Agent Barret pulled up a chair and sat down.

"I'm glad to see you recovering Major." It was a formality. It did nothing to ease the tension gnawing at Sam.

"Thanks. I'm sorry about..."

"There was nothing you could have done. You did well to save your own life." The worst thing was, she could probably have saved Agent Cross, if she'd just hung on to the probe... "Look, I wanted to ask you if you knew why they'd taken you, in the light of the fact that everyone taken had been a Goa'uld host at some point."

"I knew that. The NID agents passed information to each other. When someone arrived there, someone else would already be there. Then three days later, the person who'd been there when they'd arrived would be killed and replaced. It just went on like that. You lived six days once you'd been taken, three with one person, three with someone else. They did experiments on us; X-rays, CATs, Bloods, MRIs, I can't remember the rest."

"What sort of information did our agents pass to each other?"

"Part of it was what to expect in there. Part of it was legacies; messages to people on the outside. Family mostly." There was a very uncomfortable silence. Agent Barret pulled a notebook and pen from his pocket.

"Well, if you tell me, I'll make sure they get to the right people." Sam drew a deep breath before replying.

"Actually, there's one I'd like to deliver myself."

o0o0o0o

Sam rang the doorbell. She was on the third floor of an apartment block, DC. It had been three days since she'd escaped from the warehouse, half way through her week-long R&R.

Footsteps inside the apartment. A moment later, a woman with black hair and olive skin, Francesca Cross, Cesca, opened the door. Her eyes were red-rimmed. She was only a shadow of the woman Sam remembered through the drugged haze.

"Major." The NID must have told her who the woman she'd saved really was. "You look better."

"Thanks to you." Sam replied. "Can... can I talk to you?"

"Sure, come in." As Francesca Cross stepped away from the door, Sam could see her suppressing tears.

"Look," Sam began, unsure of how best to proceed. "I'll leave if you want me to, but there are a few things Agent Cross told me..."

"Ben, please." Francesca Cross choked, closing the door after Sam. "Call him Ben."

"Ben told me to tell you if I got out alive." Sam looked away before continuing. "Well, thanks to you, I did. So here I am." She paused and looked back at Francesca Cross. The look on her face was a request to continue. She drew a deep breath. "Ben knew... what was going to happen to him. He told me to tell you that he loved you, that he'd thought of you all the time he was a prisoner and that he would be thinking of you when..." Sam tailed off. Francesca Cross didn't respond. "I asked him about you."

"What did he say?" She asked thickly.

"He said that you looked like a goddess, moved like a dancer and that you were like a drug." Francesca had turned away, crying properly now. Sam bit the inside of her mouth. She was a field officer. She was trained to register a death, then move on. She had no idea how to react to this. The pain Francesca was obviously in was not something she knew how to deal with. She spoke past a lump in her throat. "He kept his word about..." Sam couldn't finish her sentence. "When they came for him... I've never seen anyone face death the way he did. He knew what they were going to do. He didn't beg, he didn't swear at them. He just yelled to anyone in earshot that he loved you."

"Really?" Sam glimpsed a miserable ghost of a smile across Francesca's face in the mirror.

"Yes." Sam drew a breath. "If it's any consolation, it was quick. I can't think of a quicker way to go. He wouldn't have felt anything." Sam paused again. She could hear Francesca suppressing a sob. "Look, I've lost people... close to me before. I've got some idea what it feels like, but..." She tailed off again. She couldn't think of anything to say that didn't sound hollow, contrived.

"Don't pretend this is easy for you." Francesca turned to face Sam, crying openly. "They were going to kill you like they... You're not running from it, but you must want to. You've actually got the strength to come back and face what happened to you." Francesca stopped talking, tears still streaming down her face, and embraced Sam.

For a moment, both women stood there, each in awe of the other's courage.

Fin.

**Thank you to Anna (she reviews this sometimes) for beta-ing all my fics and for persuading me to transfer them from the bizarre and obscure realm of my mind to paper, then to fanfic.**

**Thank you to the Richard Dean Anderson and co. for coming up with Stargate.**

**Thank you to Joy Mawby for being an inspiration (look her up on Amazon).**

**Thank you to God for... if I tried to list I'd be here 'till the year 3000 at least.**


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